any way to leave virgin in contract?

I have a 50Mbit cable connection in plymouth which is terrible I usually get about 200-300kb/s in the evenings and a ping of 70-300 with packet loss. It's clearly not fit for service and searching the web shows there have been problems in plymouth for over a year at least which clearly aren't being resolved. So what key words do I have to use or clauses do I cite to get out of my contract and who do I contact? Running the gauntlet of their customer services obviously doesn't appeal.

I know it's not a problem my end, I used to get 7.5MB/s and a perfect connection for a month before the students moved in.

Assuming you have the VM phone call 150 and select the thinking of leaving option which will put you through to retentions. You may get a rebate but it's unlikely you'll get a full release from your contract for free. If you don't have a VM phone there is an 0845 number listed on the website which gives all the same options.

VM are raising prices pretty much across the board early next year. They're sending letters out about it now, I've already received mine (£2/mo increase).

Due to the price increase, it's a free ticket out of your contract if you'd like to leave.

Why? £2 doesn't seem to be excessive.

My thoughts too - I have it at the back of my mind that the VM contract allows for modest increases. Still worth trying it on though...

Nope any price increase allows you to cancel. I used the clause last year to get out of my TV contract when it became apparent they wouldn't be carrying SS F1 HD. It should say as much on the letter you get. Act fast though you only have 30 days after being notified of the increase - do not wait until prices actually go up, it will be too late.

So if it's going up from £34 to £36 (ish) then they are already paying too much and your point is not valid.

It seems that the T&C's allow for cancellation.

Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982

Requires the trader to use reasonable care and skill and says that any materials or goods must be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described. It also says that, unless a specific date is agreed for a service to be provided, it must be carried out within a reasonable time.

at the bottom of my email:



Things to note.

*If you are on a promotional offer we will honour it. Some of your increase may therefore happen at the end of your promotional offer. Visit virginmedia.com/changes to find out more.

∧If you are one of the thousands of customers that have Line Rental Saver you will contine to benefit from this fantastic offer. Visit virginmedia.com/changes to find out more.

Other legal stuff.

Line rental saver: Must be paid in advance by debit/credit card. Payment is non-refundable (unless you cancel within 7 working days). After 12 months, standard monthly line rental charges will apply. ±Excluding customer-related damage. Sky customers own their own boxes. #Free calls to Virgin Media national Directory Enquiries Service on 118 180 are only available from a Virgin Media home phone (Cable and National) and Virgin Mobile and are included within your tariff; charges apply for calls to 118 180 from other operators. Fair use policy applies with a maximum of 10 calls per day. >Based on calls to BT Directory Enquiries (118 500) costing £1.69 a minute and a call connection fee of 62p. �Applies to Virgin Media Cable Broadband customers that joined before 28th February 2012. Upgrade has either happened or is scheduled to happen by mid-2013. Up to 100Mb customers will see an increase up to 120Mb by the end of 2013. <Sky's Entertainment Extra TV package with the HD Pack includes 44 HD channels compared to 24 HD channels with TV XL. �Ofcom's review of UK broadband speeds published in August 2012, based on Ofcom May 2012 test results. Virgin Media vs. major UK ISPs (average download speeds).

If you do not wish to be bound by these changes you can cancel your contract with us without penalty. The process to be followed is set out in our terms and conditions at virginmedia.com/legalstuff

Registered office address: Media House, Bartley Wood Business Park, Hook, Hampshire RG27 9UP. Registered in England and Wales No. 6024812.

If it's of any interest, I had a VM mobile phone which, when I started working from home was practically useless, due to very poor reception.

I found VM very reasonable, they checked my usage and agreed I wasn't using it much, due to me not being ABLE to use it.

So they released me from contract (nearly a year early), converted the SIM to PAYG and put £10.00 credit on it until I could look for another supplier.

Have to say they were very reasonable in my case. It might be harder to argue BB speeds, but keeping a daily log from TBB should help a lot.